Romney Expected to Sweep 5 States Tuesday

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks with Western Pennsylvania residents at a Tax Day roundtable event at the Bethel Park Community Center.

Mitt Romney is expected to sweep all five Republican presidential primaries Tuesday as GOP voters go to the polls in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Romney has two larger objectives beyond collecting most of the nearly 300 delegates that will be at stake.

[Romney's Policies Will Be Hard Sell With Independent Voters]

He is trying to make a case against President Obama as a failed leader, and to get past the criticism that he is too much of a rich aristocrat to commune with everyday people.

In a speech Sunday in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, Romney said his grandfather went broke several times and his father was a self-made man. Romney's dad, George, became an auto executive in Michigan and later served as governor of the state. In other recent comments, Romney has said he won't apologize for his wealth, which he says is also self-made.

Romney is expected to return to this personal theme at scheduled appearances Monday outside Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. He plans to hold a victory rally Tuesday night in Manchester, New Hampshire, which will be another key state in the November election.

Romney has emerged as the national front-runner and he leads the GOP race in nominating delegates. He also has won the most states, garnered the most total votes, and raised the most money.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who had been Romney's most serious opponent, ended his campaign earlier this month.

Romney's remaining competitors are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, but in recent days, Romney has been ignoring them and focusing his attention on telling his personal story and on criticizing President Obama.

The former Massachusetts governor says Obama is responsible for the high unemployment, high gasolines prices, and soaring federal deficits.

• Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy.
• See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.
• Read Ron Paul: I'm Still Here.

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